Didn't think about this when I originally post, and couldn't edit the original post, hehe.

As for "not upsetting the most ardent of purists", you forget you're dealing with Fans, MrCere! ;)

After all, a lot of the 'Hobbit purists' are not advocating simply for the story to be told as true to the text as possible (with all the animal talking and even the talking purse debate there was a couple months ago), but also in the separation of the story from LOTR. Quite a few fans- who can say if they are in the minority, majority, or if it's evenly split- don't want constant references to LOTR; they want 'The Hobbit', not 'LOTR prequel'. And that is a valid opinion to have.

I'm afraid that these fans were kidding themselves ever since Jackson was tied to the project. LOTR made little under 3 billion in theatres worldwide, and surely that amount, if not closer to double, on VHS/DVD/Blu-ray sales, and all the merchandise sales. And, of course, ROTK won all 11 oscars. Because of this, there is no way in heck that LOTR is not going to be referenced in several ways. While I am sure that Jackson and co. have quite a bit of freedom in this project, I don't think the suits at WB would let them get away with it (if they wanted to- and who is to say they do?)

Anyways, if all we see is less than a few minutes of each character that can be tied in logically, we'll be lucky. I will be jumping with joy if Legolas is only a captain in The Battle of the Five Armies and doesn't end up killing Smaug. I'll be ecstatic if all we see is Frodo and friends chilling at Bag End while Bilbo is writing the book, a one-time scene only being a few minutes long. If we hear of, goodness, Viggo Mortensen suddenly being cast, we'll be really lucky if all he is a shadowy figure turning in Gollum to Mirkwood, nothing more.

Because of the success of LOTR, its references in The Hobbit were inevitable, IMO. If we're lucky, they'll be well done, not too jarring, fit well with the lore, and, most importantly, short.

Now I'd like to hear about the casting of Bard, because hearing about Orlando Bloom's rumored return and nothing about Bard makes me worried about my "Hollywood prediction" above. Because OMG! who wouldn't want Leggy to shoot down the big mean dragon? My LiveJournal ~ My artwork and photography

NARF since age 8, when I refused to read the Hobbit because the cover looked boring and icky.